


Arachnophobia

by JuneLuxray



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-10 00:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5562235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuneLuxray/pseuds/JuneLuxray
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Inquisitor is looking through her old belongings when she finds a spider inhabiting one of her old shoes and reacts as only she can, much to her party's chagrin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arachnophobia

**Author's Note:**

> This was partly based on something that happened two years ago. I was cleaning up my room and tried to open up a folded piece of paper only to find it glued shut in the middle. I forced it open and found a mother spider behind a layer of webbing with an egg sac. 
> 
> I still feel kind of bad about shrieking in surprise and dropping it. Poor thing just wanted to lay her eggs. Spiders are friends.

Tossing out old things was taking longer than the Inquisitor had anticipated. She found herself stopping every so often to gaze nostalgically at some object that she picked through the bags sent to her; she would stare and stare and try to decide whether or not to keep it or toss it. The bags had come courtesy of the retired Knight-Commander of Ostwick; he had her belongings from the Circle sent to her shortly after she reached Skyhold. Quickly she realized that she had far more items than she wanted to fit in her loft; among them were trinkets, assorted notes, old clothes, and old books.  
  
Three piles had been set up; keep, toss, and donate. Everything was going perfectly fine for awhile (awhile indeed; she kept getting distracted and she had a lot to go through), and she was finally down to the bottom of the last bag. This bag was mainly clothing, and more than half of it had been thrown in the 'donate' pile. Josephine had ensured the Inquisitor had comfortable new clothes to wear, and most could go.  
  
She pulled out a pair of pink slippers that had grown dusty since they were last worn. The herald brushed off some of the dust and was tempted to try pulling them on, but when her fingers brushed up on the inside of the shoe, she felt something like webbing sticking to her fingers. Pulling her hand back, she recognized the whitish, almost translucent substance to be none other than spiderwebs. Gut wrenching, she held up her marked hand to the inside of the slipper, illuminating it with a green light.  
  
A mother spider peered back at her, shrinking back behind a wall of web from the light. A ball of eggs was by her legs. It was a large, brown spider, alarmed to have been discovered in a supposedly abandoned shoe. Thus, the Herald responded as only a Herald, leader of the Inquisition, could.  
  
" _ **EEEEEEEEK!**_ " She screamed at the top of her lungs and threw the slipper at the opposite wall, by the balcony, almost but not quite reaching the edge. An inch further and it would have tumbled down the mountain, never to be seen again. The Inquisitor abruptly cut her screams off, remembering she had the windows wide open. Almost immediately she regretted the decision to not scare the life out of Skyhold's residents; she had forgotten she kept the company of probably insane warriors, rogues, and mages. They would mistake her sudden silence for something much worse than extended screaming.  
  
The door below to her quarters slammed open against the wall, and the sound of rapid footprints carried up the stairs. Cassandra led them, followed by Solas and a handful of soldiers. Sera and Dorian pushed their way forward, determined to rescue their friend from whatever assassin there was. She heard other footsteps, too, no doubt the others also coming to the rescue.  
  
What they found was a completely white-faced, wide-eyed, mortified-looking Inquisitor staring up at them from the ground, among piles of junk. "Search the room," Cassandra barked, "find whatever--"  
  
"That's not necessary!" Dawn blurted. She chuckled weakly, turning red, trying to think of a way out of this situation. "I'm sorry for the disturbance, I just, erm, got scared and cut myself off to not scare any of you by my yelling, and I--"  
  
"Don't be afraid, Inquisitor." Solas reassured. "You screamed as though you were about to die. All of Skyhold heard you. Is someone intimidating you into silence?"  
  
"No! I really just scared the shit out of myself, and..."  
  
"Continue with the search," Cassandra ordered, "we will tend to the Inquisitor."  
  
Dawn groaned. "I'm serious! I screamed because...because..."  
  
"Because what?" Dorian asked, raising an eyebrow. His staff was still raised, ready for a fight. The herald sheepishly turned her gaze to the slipper tossed by the edge of the balcony. The others followed her gaze, and Sera moved to retrieve it. The rogue picked it up and examined the slipper, turning it until she saw the inside.  
  
"What is it?" Cassandra demanded.  
  
Sera's face scrunched up, smiling smugly; she couldn't hold it in. Fits of laughter rocked her as she held the slipper, cackling. Cassandra finally approached and snatched the slipper away, seeking what caused the disturbance. When she found the spider inside of the shoe, she stopped short. Her shoulders lost the previous battle-ready edge, and she gave an exasperated look to the Inquisitor, who was still bright red in the face.  
  
"A spider. You screamed like a banshee over a _spider_." Cassandra snapped, glaring at her. As soon as she began to walk back with it, when she drew too near, Dawn crawled back, away from the tainted slipper. Solas and Dorian peered into the slipper as well; Dorian snorted, trying not to laugh like Sera, covering his mouth as he giggled. Solas merely shook his head and looked towards the Inquisitor as he held the slipper.  
  
"She's certainly much more scared of you than you are of her." the apostate said calmly.  
  
The herald scowled. "I find that hard to believe."  
  
"As do I." Cassandra remarked dryly, crossing her arms. The woman made a disgusted noise. "You fight giant spiders all the time, and we've almost gone deaf a few times due to your shrieking. I didn't know you'd act like a child around a normal-sized spider. Where in the world did you pick up this ridiculous case of arachnophobia?"  
  
"I don't know! Just...keep the slipper away from me. Maker save me. _Blessed are they who stand before_..."  
  
"Don't start reciting Benedictions over a _spider_. It's not corrupt _or_ wicked." Cassandra interrupted. She made a disgusted noise and left, the soldiers following her out as she waved them along. The other party members who had come merely shook their heads and departed, save for Cole, Sera, Solas, and Dorian.  
  
"Inquisitor, darling, we need to do something about your fear of spiders. Soon." Vivienne added as she left, after giving the other Circle mage a withering look.  
  
Cole peeked into the slipper. "She's scared. She just wants to raise her eggs safely. You frightened her, too." He looked up to the Inquisitor, frowning. "Spiders are friends."  
  
Solas nodded. "I agree. Let's find a safe place to put her in the garden. Inquisitor, do you want your slipper back after--"  
  
"No!" the woman squeaked. "Just...I don't know, burn it?"  
  
"You're acting like a child." Solas remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Such a brave and noble leader reduced to this by a spider. The slipper is still intact; a wash should make it safe to use."  
  
Sera pulled the slipper's twin out of the bag and tried it on her foot. She shrugged. "I'll take 'em. Doubt they fit her anymore anyways."  
  
Cole and Solas departed for the garden, carrying the infested slipper that had so traumatized the Inquisitor. Sera began peeking through the bottom of the bag, and she closed it tight after another moment of searching. "There's more spiders down there. I can feel the webs. Do you want to still look through it?"  
  
"No! You can have whatever's in there, old shoes if I remember, just keep it away from me!"  
  
"Suit yourself." Sera said with a shrug. Dorian helped the other mage up, trying to smile reassuringly as Sera took off with the bag.   
  
"For Andraste's sake. Come along, Dawn. I'll get you a drink to ease your suffering." the mage reassured.  
  
"I'll join you two in a bit. Just gotta throw some of this stuff in the wash." Sera called from down the stairs, her footsteps echoing against the boards. Dorian escorted the Inquisitor down the stairs, through the hall, past the garden to the tavern. As they passed by, Dawn could see Solas brushing out the spider and her eggs from the slipper onto the ground by the potted plants. Cole was kneeling by his side, his face obscured by the brim of his hat.  
  
In the bar, Dorian ordered the Inquisitor a strong drink. Cabot gave them the glasses, and looked up towards the Herald as he wiped out a glass. "Any more incidents with spiders on the way here, Inquisitor?"  
  
"Shut the fuck up, Cabot."


End file.
